Seeds of Tomorrow - A CPVO Podcast

In this new episode of Seeds of Tomorrow – The Next Chapter, Annamaria Sideri, Head of the People & Resources Unit, and Tiago Sousa, Head of Human Resources at the CPVO, discuss what HR looks like inside a European agency working at the crossroads of innovation, science and intellectual property.
The conversation explores why HR is a strategic function in a specialised EU Office; how the CPVO attracts and retains talent with rare technical expertise; and how skills development and workplace culture support organisational performance and innovation in plant breeding across Europe.

In this new episode, Dr. Jocelyn Bosse, Intellectual Property expert at Queen’s University Belfast, sits down with Montserrat García-Moncó Fuente, Head of the Legal Unit at the CPVO, to unpack the legal dynamics shaping plant variety protection today.The discussion touches on current legal challenges in enforcing and interpreting plant variety rights; how IP frameworks encourage innovation and support breeders across Europe; and emerging trends in IP law — from new breeding technologies to digitalisation — and what they may mean for plant breeders and the CPVO. An insightful exchange between two experts on how law, innovation, and plant breeding continue to evolve together.

In today’s episode, Pat Fitzgerald, an Irish ornamental breeder and entrepreneur, shares his journey from the greenhouse to the global market — and how decades of plant breeding experience have shaped his view of innovation and protection.We will explore the following questions: What does it take to bring a new variety to life? What are the challenges that breeders face in a competitive and fast-changing environment? How intellectual property can help transform ideas into lasting impact? Today’s guests:
Pat Fitzgerald, Founder and CEO of Beotanics;
Nuria Urquia, Vice President at the CPVO;
Alessio De Laurentiis, Communication Officer at the CPVO (Moderator).

In today's episode, we explore how CPVO enables innovation through partnerships with academia and research institutions.Top insights: • How research and CPVR interact in practice• Why scientific partnerships matter for breeders and society• The contribution of innovation to sustainable agricultureWe’re pleased to welcome:François Laurens, Plant Breeding Research Engineer, INRAECécile Collonnier, BMT Expert, CPVO Plant Variety Expertise UnitSara Piva, International Cooperation & Data Protection Officer at CPVO (moderator)

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the CPVO and the implementation of the important legal framework in the European Union — the European Union Plant Variety Rights System — we will present a historical overview of the CPVO’s founding, its mission, and the development of plant variety protection in Europe.

Guests: Mr. Francesco Mattina, President of the CPVO; Ms. Sandra Gallina, Director-General of Health and Food Safety of the European Commission.
Moderator: Ms. Sara Piva, International Cooperation and Data Protection Officer at the CPVO.